Should Victoria Day End?

Should Victoria Day end?

Well, not as a holiday but Victoria Day? That is to say, change the name and expand what it celebrates. Keep the first Monday of the third as a statutory day between May 18 and May 24 but why should be Queen Victoria be honoured in perpetuity? 

I don'ts think she should have been pushed down and had her head cut off on the north lawn of the Legislature. You go down that route and maybe you are climbing up the walls to cut the head off the Golden Boy to make a point.

Queen Victoria is a historically important figure in Canada becoming a nation. However, even in Manitoba, she was long gone by the time the Legislature went up. Manitoba is slow to change though. Our flag still has the Union Jack on it and is barely recognizable compared to Ontario's. 

I suppose no one moves slower than Ontario. They finally allowed shopping on Victoria Day. One tradition they have still is fireworks. In Manitoba, or at least Winnipeg, zero fireworks at all. For anything.

While people appreciate the holiday, there is no significant meaning of Victoria Day for today's Canadian. None. It is frequently just another shopping day.

The day needs to be re-claimed and that probably means expanding the honours given to those important in the last and in the present. 

It is worth noting that the U.S. has Memorial Day on the following weekend. It has evolved over the years too from Decoration Day for the Civil War to Memorial Day for all veterans. The traditional kick off to summer in U.S.

Canada's Remembrance is not a national statutory day off all over Canada. It is a holiday in Manitoba but in say, Ontario. The U.S. has Veterans Day on the same day. Ceremonies take place on November 11 in Canada and the U.S. but in most of the Canada, it is a regular day except at 11 AM.

It may be time to consider a national Memorial Day that is a statutory day. There are no more WWI veterans and if a few more years there will not be any WWII veterans. However, we should maybe have a debate what Victoria Day might change to.

Just honours for veterans? How about first responders too. Police, fire, paramedics, fire fighters? One thing is certain: Victoria Day means less and less. Canadian holidays are evolving. Or they should. Even New Year's Day is barely celebrated. 

At least Canada Day keeps evolving. Except in Manitoba where nothing happens on the Eve anymore and the day is a snoozefest.